What of the photography made out of nothing ? What about painting with light? Is it photography ? Surely if we can paint with dreams,create the morning mist or the afternoon glow. Is it face? Hardly. Whatever else may be false in this tenuous existence of ours, imagination is not. All that we value, that we strive to uphold, all that gives us strength,has been made of dreams,and we must dream on. If pixels be the vehicle that realizes our dreams,be it so.
-Pedro Meyer, celebrated Mexican photographer
The biggest Asian photography festival Chobi meal vi kicked off in Dhaka with a vow to fight against injustice around the world. A number of photographers with their cameras march from National Press Club to inauguration venue at National Theatre Auditorium, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. Six representative six continents inaugurated the festival Chobi Mela VI, by lighting candelas at exhibition hall.Festival director Shahidul Alam said to media, ” I dream that Chobi Mela will play a role in re-writing the history of photography”.
Dhaka January 2011. The biggest Asian photography festival Chobi Meal VI kicked off in Dhaka with a vow to fight against injustice around the world.Copy Right:Monirul Alam
Some of the biggest name in International photography, including Pedro Meyer (Mexico), Morten Krogvold (Norway), Robart Plege (UK/ France) and Chris Rainier ( Canada) in the inaugural venue. With 29 exhibition featuring over 400 images by photographers from 31 contraries ; 33 digital presentation; 9 workshops conduct by seasoned photographers, mobile exhibitions on 10 rickshaw vans.
Achievement Awards conferred at the inaugural program this year three personalities from different continents- Naib Uddin Ahmed ( Asia/Bangladesh), J.D.Okhai Ojeikere ( Africa/Nigeria) and Pedro Meyer (North America/Mexico) received the awards.
Dhaka January 2011.Six representative six continents inaugurated the festival Chobi Mela VI, by lighting candelas at exhibition gallery.Copy Right:Monirul Alam
Among the Bangladeshi photographers , Debashish Shome, Munem Wasif and Sayed Asif Mahmud will participant at the festival with their respective stories- Dhaka: My Dreams, My reality. Salt Waters Tears and My City of Uhheard.
Chobi Mela was first held in 2000. The festival Chobi Mela VI will continue till February 3,2011.
Dhaka January 2011. Hundreds of Thousands revelers celebrated in the New Year 2011 with full of spirit early hours at Dhaka University Campus. Copy Right:Monirul Alam
My photography set-up an agenda, which is unfolded in our wider world . To me camera is as like a weapon, which I use to make a truth. I recorded many times as an eyewitness. My main interest lies in new era with concerning environmental and social issues. . . monirul alam
Highlights of the Year:
I celebrated my kids [MEGH] 1st birthday which is held on 1st July. I am very happy and really enjoy and spend times with my love ones baby.
I got to go on vacation with my families to St. Martin Island and also had spending a great times fill of happiness.
I continued run my blog and post to sharing my thought with people through my photos which I took https://monirul.wordpress.com/
I joined as a VII Visionaries http://viiphoto.ning.com/profile/MonirulAlam member which run VII Photos Agency and met so many great photographers and their works I really learned a lot . . .
I opened a new account Twitter which name is [meghmonir]
Several time I traveled our district town covered assignment for our news paper Prothom Alo and got many impotent issues,which I planning follow up for next year.
I continued published photographers works to my on line magazine BLADE
I experienced to observed a two great photographers presentation Ron Haviv from VII Photo Agency and Philip Blenkinsop from NOOR Photo Agency.Which I knows more about photography and photographer point of view. This presentation conduct by Pathshala & Drik in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
I continued my teaching at Pathshalaas a lecturer which I really enjoy with met to a new students .
I think Two Thousand Eleven year will bring peace, promises, success and happiness to all of us and from the past year which is worst we forget it.
Dhaka, Bangladesh. December 28 2010 - Festival director Shahidul Alam speaks a pre-event press conference at Drik Gallery.The Chobi Mela VI - International Festival of Photography will be held from 21 January to 3 February, 2011 in Dhaka Bangladesh. Copy Right:Monirul Alam
South Asian bigest evnt of the Chobi MelaVI – International Festival of Photography will be held from 21 January to 3 February, 2011 in Dhaka Bangladesh and will present the work of creative artists participating from 30 countries. Please see all details . . .
A peacock mutates from a princely pet to a goddess blurring boundaries between reality and illusion reinventing the Panchatantra (Indian animal fables in prose and verse) for the 21st century. Festival theme photo from the "India Song" exhibition by Karen Knorr UK/Puerto Rico, Courtesy of Tasveer.Chobi Mela VI to Open a Portal to a Restive World of Dreams
“All that we value, that we strive to uphold, all that gives us strength, has been made of dreams”
Dhaka, Bangladesh. 28 December, 2010: The Chobi Mela VI – International Festival of Photography will be held from 21 January to 3 February, 2011 in Dhaka Bangladesh and will present the work of creative artists participating from 30 countries. The festival with its theme “Dreams” is designed to be a birthplace of ideas, and a crossover meeting point for many artists. It will open a portal to a mystical world of images showcasing new trends in photography and bringing to the fore issues of our troubled world.
The unique festival will be launched on the 21 January, 2011 at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. Parallel exhibitions will be held at Alliance Francaise, The Asiatic Gallery of Fine Arts, The British Council, Drik Gallery, The Goethe-Institut and the Lichultala at Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University. In congruence with the exhibitions there will be 8 workshops, 2 portfolio reviews and a week-long discussions, seminars and lectures at Goethe-Institut Auditorium that will initiate debates and discussions on issues central to contemporary photographic practice.
The main attraction on the 22 January at Goethe-Institut will be a video conference with Dr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor, International Criminal Court. In this position, his mandate is to select and trigger investigations and prosecutions of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The first Chobi Mela festival (Dec.1999-January 2000) was launched by Drik and Pathshala South Asian Media Academy to fill the need for a forum for sharing work and ideas, a platform for debate that was missing on this side of the globe. This inaugural festival focused on ‘Differences’ in the world we live in and in a sense was prophetic. The twin towers disaster followed and buried beneath the rubble the freedoms that the world has since lost. “In a world ravaged by war, to turn to ‘Dreams’ after ‘Differences’, ‘Exclusion’, ‘Resistance’, ‘Boundaries’ and ‘Freedom’ is to return to what holds us together in the face of all our obstacles, the focus of all our longings. In a vastly unequal world, it is our insistence on justice and our ability to ride the waves, which still keeps us dreaming,” says Shahidul Alam, Festival Director and Managing Director of Drik. “I dream that Chobi Mela will play a role in re-writing the history of photography, and correcting the extremely Eurocentric version of history that is currently propagated.”
Dhaka, Bangladesh. December 28 2010 - Photographer's and media persons attend at a pre-event press conference at Drik Gallery. Copy Right:Monirul Alam
Many bodies of work that went on to become well known were first shown in Chobi Mela. Considered to be the most demographically inclusive photo festival and the resulting pollination has led to many exciting exchanges, and given rise to several new festivals in the region for which Chobi Mela has been the catalyst.
Ensuring the general public’s access is an important part of the festival and admission for the festival is free. Mobile exhibitions on rickshaw vans are now a trademark of the Chobi Mela festivals. The festival provides an opportunity not only to enjoy the outstanding work of national and international photographers but also raises important social issues critical to our existence.
Many indigenous people who fled from their homes remained out in the open in deep forest after the army crackdown on the rebels. An eerie calm engulfed the areas after martial law was proclaimed on July 19, 1855. The Rajmahal hills were drenched with blood and all Santal villages were razed. The captured santals were made railway construction labour in chains. In 1856, the Santal leaders were captured and executed and the rebellion subsided.
We pay a tribute to the Santal martyrs who died a heroic death for the establishment of their rights. They fought with revolutionary zeal to flush out the intruders and their local agents. According to newspaper reports politicians and lawyers observed Santal revolution day on June 28, demanding constitutional recognition and separate land commission for the ethnic minorities.
The state must ensure establishment of the rights of the indigenous people. Bangladesh Adivasi Adhikar Andolon organised a day-long program in observance of the 155th anniversary of the Santal revolution. The program ended with a cultural function.
Corals,Clear blue water and the several endangered species of turtles that nest on the island become a major tourist attraction. Every years St. Martin Island visitor population has increased dramatically. Bangladesh is really proud of it’s Island and could earn millions of dollars every year if it well promotes at the same time be concern about its natural conservation and protection.
St. Martin Island, November 2010. Exciting live corals at Chera Dwip. Copy Right: Monirul Alam
A few days ago I visited to St. Martin Island with my family members. They are really enjoy its beauty and said, “It’s a paradise for us, if we are not to come here we really missed it’s beauty I like it’s non stop roaring said my sister-in-law Mimi,a mother of Pritha and Adiba.
My mother is happy to see its beauty and I think this Island is good for her health. St. Martin Island is one of the best place in Bangladesh, especially in winter time. The dumbbell-shaped island has area of only about 8 sq. km which reduces to about 5 sq. km. during the high tide. Three smaller islands- Zinjira, Galachira and Cheradia are located just the south of the main island.
I think every tourist amazed to see its beauty each and every moment except a few minutes high tide on the Sea Trucks ride, During my visit I observed a number of foreign and local visitors enjoying their holiday. A rocky platform surrounds this island and extends into the sea,but the sand is excellent almost all the way around and is ideal for sunbathing.Its fascinating to see so many different types of fish drying in the sun on endless bamboo racks along the beach. In the morning you will walk up to view a Sun rising over the mountain’s of Myanmar while you see the Sun down on the Sea and you took a beautiful picture in front of corals.The people there are very friendly but concern about your important wealth.
St. Martin Island November 2010. The Sea fish is available at St. Martine Island. Copy Right: Monirul Alam
Zahid and Nila a newly married couple 1st time visit at St. Martine Island and enjoy their honeymoon. They said, “We really enjoy its beauty with our pleasure specially we like Chera Dwip causes its silent mode and crystal clear blue water with corals and sea food”.
St. Martin’s Island is a small island in the northeast part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox’s Bazar to Teknaf surrounded by water, and forming the southernmost part of Bangladesh. It is the only coral island in Bangladesh. It is about 8 km west of the northwest coast of Myanmar at the mouth of the Naf river. The surrounding coral rock’s of the island has an extension named Chera Dwip. If you not to go Chera Dwip I think you miss half of it’s beauty.
St. Martin Island, November 2010. A beautiful light fall on the corals at sea beach of St.Martine Island. Copy Right: Monirul Alam
Local officials see a certain risk in Saint Martin’s success with tourists, with some people hunting turtles and breaking off corals to sell to visitors. The island exists only because of its coral base, so removal of that coral risks erosion of the beaches. St. Martins has lost roughly 27% of its coral reef in the past 14 years. From Teknaf, ferries run daily to Saint Martin. It takes around 2.30 hours to reach the island, and most tourists visit the island from November to March.
Dhaka November 2010. Bangladeshi madras orphanage students using rickshaw van to collecting sacrifice animals tanned hide at old Dhaka. Bangladeshi Muslims celebrating the Eid-Ul-Azha the annual Islamic holiday is marked by the ritual sacrifice after morning prayers of sheep,goats,cows and other livestock whose meat is then shared with the poor.Copy Right:Monirul Alam
Dhaka city is now like turning human sea home bound people madly rush on the bus,train and launch station for celebrating country’s second biggest religious festival Eid-Ul-Azha. Number of cattle market occupied on the main road traffic system is already collapse but people not to stop just moving and moving. I think they are determined to go to their village and celebrate Eid with their loved ones.
Tongi Station. November 2010. Hundreds of homebound passenger crowd the roofs of train risking their lives to meet their kins and share the joy of Eid festivity.Copy Right:Monirul Alam
We just wait at Tongi rail station to take photos for our news coverage. I look around on the station number of people is waiting for train. The commuter train will be come from Dhaka station and go to other district. I see a few of garments worker just sitting on the station, I talked with them, Salma Begum said, The train was supposed to be here at 4.30 pm, now it’s 6.20 pm but not to arrive we just waiting hour and hour’s but we are happy to go to my house, like Salma thousand of train passengers waited for long time.
When the train is arrive on the station I just look, it is already full of passenger inside and roof of the train while I see Salma just left her shoes and thrown the train roofs and than she climbs up on the train roofs, I think it is risking journey for her but Salma is smiling me and say good bye bhaiya Eid Mubarak. I took many pictures of Salma and her friends. Within a few minutes the train is left from the station at the same time I leave on the station and started my motor bike to returning my office news editor have been waiting for my picture . . .
On the way of my office long time I standing near the Mintu road with my motorbike causes huge traffic jam. A bas contractor insisting me-ride your motorbike on the footpath and safe your time. He said, bhai footpath re upper deya jan, boya takle shomoy nosto hoibo. I think as a responsible person I don’t go the wrong way . . .
Dhaka. Human Train Copy Right:Monirul Alam
Within a few minute’s I see most of the motorbike rider- ride their motorbike on the footpath- like parent with his kids,security forces,Journalist and many more. After while a contractor smiling for me, and said how foolish you are !
In the day time all street are occupied and gridlock by the bus,private car, rickshaw street hacker. Political parties and other organization doing their regular activities on the busy street without concern law and other people’s right.
Dhaka city people are now crazy. If your could closely observe than you see within a minute more incident is happening even that each other beat of them for funny things, every day of their daily chats.
Lawlessness, respecting each other and dignity is gradually lost form the people’s life. It is establish that We lost our believe. We all are busy and mad crazy going faster and faster- but the result in ZERO.
On that days I also covering an assignment at Faculty of Fine Arts ( Charukola Dhaka University) An eminent Japanese sculptor SETSU SUZUKI for his exhibition opening. He said, my first visit I see huge number of people live in the dhaka city. He also said my HUMAN TOWER installation is more relevant for the Bangladeshi people. I think as a foreign artiest within a short time to read our society.
North Part of Bangladesh,Kurigram.2005. Living on the Char is not very comfortable- children walk on the river side. Monga or seasonal food insecurity is not a new phenomenon in Bangladesh. Seasonal food insecurity in ecologically vulnerable and economically weak part of north-western Bangladesh.Copy Right:Monirul Alam
MONIRUL ALAM 